Be My Rock?
by Pretty.Little.Lindsey
Summary: Aria Montgomery returns from a year abroad and has changed a lot. Can she get back on the right track with some much needed help from her friends and family? More importantly, is she able to rekindle her romance with Ezra after her life-changing year?
1. Chapter 1

**Be my rock?**

**Summary**: Aria Montgomery returns from a year abroad and seems to have changed a lot. Can she get back on the right track with some much needed help from her friends and family? More importantly, is she able to rekindle her romance with Ezra after her life-changing year?

-Chapter 1-

It didn't hit me until I looked at my watch. One hour left. It had been a long plane ride. Seven hours to be exact. Okay, so not the longest plane ride I had been on but the ride was paired with my extremely anxious self being paranoid. Maybe paranoid wasn't the right word. I was scared as hell.

I was getting back from a year abroad in France. I was going through a really rough time before I left that my parents thought it was necessary that I got out of the hellhole that Rosewood really was. Is. But my parents, they didn't know the half of it. I was going through a tough time. Hell, I probably would have killed myself on multiple occasions had it not been for Ezra.

Ezra was my boyfriend of a year when all of this happened. All year I had been going through a lot dealing with –A the stalker, the mystery surrounding Ally, and all the crap I got from my brother. But things didn't start getting bad until summer rolled around. Emily moved to Texas, Hannah went to go spend some time with her dad, and Spencer went to do a study program at NYU. I was all alone. Well, not alone. I had Ezra. But that's when things started getting really bad. –A started targeting me and me only. I was given tasks that were hurting myself and my family, I was threatened and I was used. There was noting I could have done about it. No one I could have told. I was alone.

Ezra knew something was up and he was trying to help me but he had no idea what was going on. Nevertheless, he was there for me and was my rock. As I said, I probably would have killed myself many times had it not been for Ezra.

But then he had to go. His father was sick and it was summer so he left to go help take care of him. We texted 24/7 and he would call me three times a day to make sure I was alright. He knew I was a little unstable but he didn't know I was at my breaking point. When one day he didn't call or text back, I got worried. When it continued for a few days, I broke down. My parents noticed that I was someplace else, they heard me crying at night, and they understood what I needed. A way out.

They sat me down at the kitchen table and asked me what was going on. When I gave no answer, they started asking other questions. Ones easier to answer. Is this about Alison? Is it because your friends are gone? Does this have to do with some boy? We talked for about an hour until my dad came up with a really good idea. Or at least I thought so at the time. He thought a year abroad would do me good. I had spent a year already in Iceland and I had really grown up and matured. It was a great experience and my dad thought I could use another year to get away. I was all for it.

I picked France and within a week was on my way. My parents didn't want me to have too much of Rosewood hanging over my head so they gave me money to buy a whole new wardrobe and basically start my life over again. To be a whole new person. Well that's what I did. I was not Aria Montgomery anymore. Not mentally at least. What was supposed to help stable me did the exact opposite. In Iceland I matured a lot. In France I just grew up.

Because I had only given the program a week to know I was coming, the home I was staying in was not exactly the best fit home. Alexis, the father was never home though I liked him the most. He was always on business trips and when home, always at work. Next there was Amy who was the mother who was completely oblivious to everything. Last but not least, there was Janette. Janette was in my grade at school and ended up becoming my best friend at school. We went shopping when I first arrived and I got an entirely new wardrobe. Janette helped pick out my clothes and they were so not me. I began wearing extremely low cut tops with short skirts and high heels. I wore slutty dresses and flirted with every guy I would see.

Janette and I became the coolest kids at school. We gathered our own little posy and began doing things we shouldn't have been doing. I was in such a tough place that I needed a drink to cool me off every once in a while. One drink led to two and that led to many more. Eventually, I was drinking every night and during the day to. When my friends started smoking pot, I didn't even resist. I drowned myself in the drugs and alcohol to cover up how unstable I really was.

I kept my grades high enough so my parents wouldn't ever need to know and I hardly talked to them the whole time I was away. My excuse: I need to get away from Rosewood and talking to you is not helping. Before I left, I was in need of a little help but once I was in France, I was completely gone.

"Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing." I heard the pilot say. This was it. I would get home, have a day to get over jetlag and then school would start. I had never told any of my friends that I was leaving. Nor had I told Ezra. I got an entirely new phone. Hell, I got an entirely new life. I wanted to tell myself to just be myself but I didn't even know who that was anymore.

**Ok, so this is my first fanfic EVER! I'm really excited about this story and I hope you like it. PLEASE PLEASE review**

**Love you all, Lindsey**


	2. Chapter 2

-Chapter 2-

Coming home from a year away was tough. My parents hadn't realized how much I had changed. Nor had my brother. The drive home was filled with questions. They never seemed to end. My parents just kept talking but I had no answers. I didn't want to talk to them. Finally, they just assumed I was too tired to talk.

Letting me go upstairs to be alone, I just closed my door and laid down. Tears started forming in my eyes. I hadn't cried since the night before I left for France. The night I realized that if Ezra hadn't returned any of my calls for a whole week that he probably didn't want anything to do with me. That night I cried myself to sleep. It seemed like I'd be doing the same tonight.

I hadn't thought about Ezra so much all year, but now I felt like I had to think about him. I couldn't shut him out anymore. He'd surly be teaching at Rosewood High this year, right? Meaning I will have to see him, right? I didn't want to see him. He hurt me and was the reason I left. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be like this. But I am. Too late I guess.

I fell asleep crying and woke up with a horrid headache. I walked down stairs and looked at the clock. 2:51 PM. How the hell did I sleep that late? Jetlag. On a pink sticky note on the fridge, there was a short letter in my mother's handwriting so I started to read.

_Aria, I went to the gallery to do some work and Byron has classes all day. Mike is at lacrosse camp. I should be home around 3:30 to take you school supply shopping. Feel free to have some friends over if you are up much earlier than that. Good luck with that jetlag. Xoxo, Mom_

Great, I had about 40 minutes to get ready for the day. I hopped in the shower, blow dried my hair, put on a gallon of makeup, a short jean skirt and a low cut, almost see through white tank top with a lime green bra. I paired it with some heavy necklaces and rings and took one final look in the mirror all in record time. Well, if my parents hadn't noticed my transformation by now, they definitely would today.

"Hi honey, you up?" I heard from downstairs.

"upstairs." I yelled back

I heard some heels clinking op the stairs and then my mom rounded the corner to my bedroom. "No." She said before anything else

"No what?" I asked knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"We are going school supply shopping. Not hunting for a job as a prostitute. I'm not letting you out of the house dressed like that."

"And I'm not changing." I said in a final voice.

"Then were not leaving the house."

"Well who said I wanted to go in the first place?" She was really starting to get to me. I mean sure she had a reason for not wanting me to leave the house in what I was wearing but I was so used to no one telling me what to do. Ever.

"Fine." She said and left the room.

I just sat down on my bed and looked around my room. This room had so many memories. I opened my cluttered desk drawer and pulled out my old American phone that I had left here and turned it on. When I looked at the screen I saw I had 439 new text messages. Go figure.

I didn't want to read all of them but I was somewhat interested in what my friends thought when I just disappeared. Well there were 49 from Spencer, 32 from Hannah, 16 from Emily, 178 from Ezra, and the rest from random other people including 2 from –A.

Why was Ezra texting me? If he didn't want to talk to me earlier then why would he text me later? Maybe he was just curious when he got back and I was gone. Either way, I was not reading those texts.

I deleted all my unread messages with the click of a button and sat down on my bed. Now what? It was 3:45 in the afternoon, way too late to call any of my friends from France, and I didn't want to deal with the questions from my friends here just yet so what now?

I decided it was a good idea to get some food in my system. Maybe if I ate, I could get this damn headache to go away. After eating I decided to take a nap. It didn't even matter that I slept a good 14 hours last night. I was still exhausted.

"Aria, Aria, wake up." I heard as two hands were shaking me. My eyes fluttered open and I saw my mom sitting next to me on my bed.

"Yeah?" I mumbled.

"I don't want you sleeping. You have to be able to sleep tonight so you're not exhausted tomorrow at school. But I guess its too late because its 8." She said as I frantically looked around my room for a clock. Had I really slept that much?

"Wh, what?" I stuttered out.

"Yeah, I saved you some dinner. I wanted to talk to you though," When I didn't respond, she continued, "About earlier."

"Mhm," I said, motioning for her to continue.

"Well, I just don't know what that was. I don't want to fight with you but as you're mother, I have to make sure that what you wear is appropriate. Hun, you're 17. "

"And what was that thing you always used to tell me about expressing yourself through clothes?"

"Aria, that's not you. You may have changed a lot over the past year but you're still my Aria and I know you better than anyone. That's not you. The quirky outfits that you wore last year, that was expressing you individuality, not showing off all your skin."

I knew she was right but I didn't want to give in. I would give anything to get myself to the point I was at before I left for France but that was going to take a lot more than I could do. So why try? At least this way my friends would be jealous and forget that they were mad that I just left, and Ezra would want me back so badly. Man, if I showed up in school tomorrow dressed as I wanted to then all eyes would be on me. I wouldn't have to worry about trying to fit in anymore. I just would. It was second best to having everything back the way it was. I didn't really have any other choice.

"Hun?" came my mom's voice shaking me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry, you know what mom, I'm just going to go eat my dinner and go to bed."

"Aria, there is no was that you are still tired and you're not getting out of this conversation. You will answer me." She said harshly.

"What do you want from me mom? I don't know what to tell you."

"How about I'm sorry, tomorrow I will wear something more appropriate to school."

"You were the one who taught me never to tell a lie."

"Aria Montgomery, you will listen to me when I say this. You will wear nothing like that tomorrow. Now will you please just tell me what this is all about?" She practically screamed at me.

"Mom! I'm not a little girl anymore and you can't tell me what to do."

"Oh yes I can. You're not 18 and you live under my roof. Now that's enough. Go have some dinner and maybe when you wake up in the morning you'll have a little more sense." She said, getting up and slamming the door.

Crap, what was I supposed to do. There was no way my mom was letting me go to school dressed how I liked but there was no way I was going to be the same girl I was before. If I wasn't Aria Montgomery on the inside, why should I look like Aria Montgomery?

**First off, I have never put anything I've written online before or really let anyone read anything but I should more often because every single review gave me the biggest smile and made me so happy. So, thank you all for that! Secondly, this chapter is kind of blahh, I had to get that in there but its kind of boring, I know. But guess who's showing up next chapter? Dun duna na! FITZ! So get excited! Oh, and the more reviews, the sooner I will post next chapter, which will be longer too =D**

**Thank you all so much, Lindsey**


	3. Chapter 3

-Chapter 3-

The buzzing of my alarm clock brought me out of my deep sleep and it took me a minute to realize it was the first day back at school. I had been trying so hard to avoid thinking about it but now there was no avoiding it. I would be back at school in… Crap, 30 minutes. Deciding I didn't need a shower, I raced around my room getting ready for the day ahead. Before heading downstairs I looked in the mirror. I looked like a nun but I would get out of the house this way at least. I was wearing a short purple dress with major cleavage and a pair of purple pumps. Under the dress I was wearing black tights and a sweatshirt to cover the tight dress. My mom didn't have to know I would take off the tights and sweatshirt the minute I got there.

After some comment from my mom about finally coming to my senses, she approved my outfit and I was off. As soon as I got to a deserted part of the road, I parked the car and shed a few layers. Now I was ready.

Arriving at school was like being fed to a pack of wolves. A bunch of kids I was not ready to see ran up to me asking questions. The three people I actually wanted to find were nowhere to be seen. Just my luck.

"Look, I'm really sorry guys, I need to go to the office and get my schedule before class. I'll talk to you all at lunch." I said cutting off everyone's questions. They were all silent and I took that as my cue to leave.

Walking down the halls of school, I found everyone staring. I looked around the hall and winked at a few cute boys that I didn't remember from before I left and finally made my way into the office. I turned in a few forms and received my schedule. Period one: English. I didn't want to deal with all the questions and stairs so I decided to make my way to class. It didn't start for 10 minutes but I guess that's better than answering pointless questions. I opened the classroom door and realized that no one was there. Not even the teacher. I sat down in a chair near the back of the room and took out my phone to send a text to the girls.

**Hey guys, I'm back in school… I have English first period. Let's meet up afterwards? –Aria**

I put my phone back in my pocket and looked around the room for a minute. It was extremely tidy and there were no posters or anything on the walls. I heard footsteps but before they could get to the door my phone buzzed. The door slowly creaked open and I heard footsteps but I was too busy looking at my phone to notice who had entered.

**Hey Aria! Why didn't you tell us you were back? We all have English first too! See you soon! –Spence**

But before I could finish reading the text I heard a gasp from the front of the room. I looked up and dropped my phone. I did not need this right now.

Standing in front of the blackboard in a vest and slacks was an open mouthed Ezra Fitz. Was he honestly my teacher? Why did I decide to get here ten minutes early? I stared up at him and he finally had enough sense to close his mouth. He swallowed some kind of lump in his throat before he spoke.

"A, Aria. Your back?" Of course I was back. Any idiot could see that. Is that honestly all he could say?

"Evidently." It came out harsh. I wasn't going to play nice here but I didn't exactly mean for it to sound that cruel. "Sorry," I said quickly, "It's been a long couple of days." I wasn't sure exactly why I was telling him this. I didn't want to let him in. I knew if I did he would crawl around under my skin and I'd fall hard again but I couldn't help telling him. I wanted to be mean to him. Make him feel bad for what he did. Honestly I did, but seeing his face that had not changed a bit since I had left sucked me right back in.

"It's been a long year." He said moving slightly closer to my desk. I nodded and he took that as his clue to come and sit on the desk next to mine. "You left." He said. It sounded cold. He had finally remembered to be mad at me. Why couldn't I just get that in me?

"_You _left." I said accusingly. He was quick to cut in.

"Aria, we need to talk but this isn't the place. You need to come by the apartment."

I wasn't quite sure why but at that moment I felt a pang of anger shoot through me. I was going to make this hard on him. Not me. I was not going to get blamed for this. Anyways, I had changed so much and Ezra didn't know the new me. If he thought we could go right back to where we were, he was wrong. I didn't need him anymore like a little child and he probably wouldn't like me anymore anyways. I was such a different person.

"No. I will not go to you're apartment and talk. I don't want to talk to you. Can you get that through you're head already? I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to come to you're apartment and I certainly don't want to…" But I was cut off. Three students walked in laughing loud enough to cancel out what I was about to say. Ezra glared at me with such intensity I almost felt guilty, then he got up and walked to his desk.

The class flew by in a blur. All I could think about was Ezra. I didn't know what I wanted to happen. Well, I knew exactly what I wanted to happen but what I wanted was not reality. All I wanted was for things to go back to the way they were before I left but I can't do that now. I've changed too much to be the same person I was before. But did I want Ezra back? Of course I did, right? But there's no way it would work between us with me like this. I'm not right for him. Not anymore. He wants a girl who will sit with him and watch an old movie or read a book. I need a guy who will sneak around a smoke weed with me. Screw that. I didn't even want a boyfriend. I'm perfectly fine the way I am. Right?

"Aria?" I snapped out of my daze and realized the classroom was empty. Well, except for Ezra and me.

"Sorry," I mumbled gathering my things but before I could walk out the door I heard my name again.

"Aria, what were you telling me earlier?"

"Oh, I think I got my point across," I said making my way towards the door again.

"Ok, I get it. But can you tell me what's going on?" So did he still care about me?

"What do you mean?" I asked, fully aware of what he was asking. I had zoned out through his entire class and that was never something I did. Well, I never used to at least.

"It might have been a year but I still know you better than anyone."

"You know what? You don't know anything about me! I'm not the same person I was and I'm not someone you want to be around." By the time I had said this he was standing next to me.

"Then tell me who you are because honestly Aria, I'm not liking this you."

"I have to get to class." I didn't care about being late to class but I would have given anything to get out of this one.

"What class do you have?"

I looked at my schedule and looked back up at him. He had a small smirk on his face and it grew as I said, "History."

"You're mom's teaching that class and if I didn't know any better I'd say she wouldn't exactly want to see you in this," He said mentioning to my outfit. Crap, my mom was teaching at the school? Why didn't she tell me? I looked up at Ezra and he noticed the look of shock on my face, "Aria, talk to me. I have my prep period and I can get you out of class. What's going on?"

"Nothing." I said as we walked over to two seats and sat down. I didn't know what to do. Here was an hour I was going to have to spend with Ezra and I wasn't sure what I was even supposed to say, but something inside me told me to stay. Told me that I needed to work things out with him.

"You're not fooling me."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it."

"Aria, I'm asking you as a teacher, as an adult who cares about you and nothing more to tell me what's bothering you. I can read you like an open book. You're hurting and you haven't told anyone."

"Well you're not exactly someone I want to tell."

"Well can you at least tell me why you left?" He was playing nice. I could see that. He really could read me and he knew I was broken. He was too good of a guy to hold that against me. But why was he being _so _nice?

"You're the one who left." I said in a mater-of-fact tone.

"I went to go visit my sick grandmother and I came home and you were in England. Can you even comprehend how I felt?"

"Look, you're the one who stopped returning my calls. What, did you just decide that a phone was for losers and so were girlfriends?"

"My grandmother was told she would die in the next six weeks. She told me to get rid of my phone as her last wish so I was there with her while she was dying and not someplace else." He was angry now.

"And you couldn't have said goodbye?" I didn't mean to say it as loudly as I did but the way it came out was harsh and full of hate.

"She took the phone away before I had the chance." I fell silent at once. Now I felt like an idiot. What was I supposed to say to that?

After a moment of science I finally spoke up "Sorry. For making you go through that." I don't know where it came from but I felt bad for him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." He said and looked me in the eyes, "Now will you please just tell me what's going on? It's killing me to see you like this."

**Ok first off, I'm so sorry about how long it's been since I've updated. Basically I started school this week and I've been so crammed with homework but it's going to get better so hopefully I won't take this long to update again. Next, thank you so much for all the amazing reviews! It's so great coming home from a long day at school and seeing a few new reviews. It honestly makes me so happy. So, what do you thinks going to happen? Will Aria give in and spill or will she stay stubborn? Also, do you want A to be part of the story? I'm leaning towards not including shim but it's up to you! Please please please review and tell me weather or not you want A. Thanks so much once again! Oh, and happy late Ezria anniversary! That should be a holiday :)  
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**Love you, Lindsey**


	4. Chapter 4

-Chapter 4-

After Ezra had asked me for about the hundredth time what was going on, I decided that I was not by any means going to let him in because I knew what would happen if I did.

"Nothing, alright. What was the homework?" I asked getting him off the topic.

"Did you really not hear anything I said in class? God aria, who _are _you?" He was pissed now.

"Not who you think I am. What was the homework?"

"Write a paragraph about what you did over the summer. I bet I know what you did." It sounded cold.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He wasn't just talking about me being in France here was he? He must have realized I had gotten into some bad stuff over there but how much did he really know?

"I'm not an idiot. You're a teenage girl and you spent a year without your parents. You know what, your exactly that- a teenage girl." He was screaming at me like I had never heard anyone yell before.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Of course it was but I wasn't going to admit that. I was, in actuality, a teenage girl, but I was so much more than that. Well at least I used to be.

Before he had the chance to answer, I get up, left the room, and slammed to door behind me.

I walked down the hall. What now? I wasn't about to ditch my mom's own class knowing that Ezra wasn't going to write me an excuse now. I guess I had to put up with my mom. Room 212. Well, this was it. I quietly opened the door and everyone looked in my direction. Including my mom whose mouth dropped open the minute she saw me.

"Sorry, I was talking to Mr. Fitz. He said he would write me a late pass but he must have forgotten." It was somewhat true.

"So, you and Fitz are still hooking up?" I heard from somewhere in the back of the room. When I looked up, the face was unmistakable. Noel Kahn.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, playing it cool. Now everyone was looking between us. Including my mom.

"We will talk about this later." My mom said sternly, mentioning me to take my seat. I went to the back of the class and tried my best to pay attention to the lesson but my mind was elsewhere.

What was I supposed to do? Ezra hated my guts, I had completely ignored my friends during 1st period, my mom had seen my outfit, and Noel Kahn was already trying to expose Ezra and I. Screw that, there was no Ezra and I to be exposed. By the time the bell had rung, my mom asked me to stay behind.

"Look mom, I got to get to class but can we talk at home? I really got to go."

"Oh, we will talk at home alright but I made the rule before you got to class that if you're late without a valid excuse then you get a one hour detention. I just thought you should know. Detentions tomorrow after school."

"Whatever." I mumbled before I turned and left making my way to science.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Lunch was an interesting event. My friends were pissed at me for leaving without telling and ignoring them during English and because they never knew about Ezra and I, I had no excuse for them other than that I was feeling dizzy. That wasn't too far off I guess. Finally they somewhat accepted my apology and flooded me with questions. A few cute guys had come over to talk to me and I flirted with all of them. The girls were a little freaked out I think but who cares? That's just me.

The minute I stepped through the doors of my home, I felt relaxed. I knew my mom would be home in less than an hour but that meant I had all that time to myself. I went to the back of my closet and sat down. I didn't know what to do. I had promised myself I wasn't going to do anything once I got home but I really needed something now. I didn't have any drugs and I wasn't planning on being drunk when my mom got here. Cutting was too obvious and that didn't leave me with much. I thought back to before I had left. My life was like a personal hell but I handled it so well. It felt like I had never had a day worse then today, but how can I say that's true when everyday was worse than today. I just knew how to handle it. But I wasn't about to run to Ezra's apartment and ask him to hold me until I stopped crying, nor was I going to sit down and pour my feeling out in a journal.

I sat there thinking about the first option. Ezra was pissed at me. That's for sure. But I could get him back if I really wanted to, I knew that too. He still cared about me. But he wouldn't once he realized how messed up I really was. I didn't want to be so messed up anymore but I don't even know how to live my life the way I want it to be. That's why I am this way. It felt like a never ending battle between good and evil taking over my brain. So far evil was winning but I wanted good too. I just didn't know how.

If Ezra could help me, I wanted the help. But, on the other hand, I didn't want to give into him. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted and I didn't know how I would get any of it. Ezra was mad, but did he still want to know? Would he keep trying? Trying to help me? Trying to fix me? Something in me wanted him to. Hoped he would. But I didn't want to give in either. I was so confused and all over the place when I heard the door open and my name being called by my very angry mother. I was so not ready for this.

I walked down stairs and entered the kitchen where my mom was sitting. I didn't want to bring anything up that she wasn't going to so I kept my mouth shut until it was apparent that she wasn't starting this conversation.

"So, you're teaching at rosewood now? Why didn't you tell me? Spying on me?" I asked beating around the bush.

"Well, I didn't think I'd have to spy on you. You're not that kind of kid. But once I saw you dressed in that outfit the other day I realized that maybe you are. Aria, this disgusts me. First, I can't believe you're wearing that outfit to school. It's wrong on so many levels. Next, you lied to me about what you were going to wear. How am I ever going to trust you if you're not telling me the truth all the time? And lastly, what was that talk about you and Mr. Fitz?" Once she finished her mini rant, I let her breathe for a second before answering. Wow, she really had hit all the bases.

"There's nothing going on between me and Mr. Fitz. That's disgusting. He's my teacher. He just was asking me about help on my college essay but I turned him down. Lot's of kids had his help last year so he wanted me to know he was there if I wanted the help." It wasn't a complete lie but I still had it. The lies came naturally even though I hadn't needed to lie for a year.

"At least you're still planning on going to college," She mumbled under her breath, "And don't you have anything to say about what you're wearing or about lying to me?"

I thought about that for a minute. I didn't really have anything to say for myself so I answered simply. "No."

"Well, you're grounded for a month. I'm not going to take you're phone away from you but no going out unless me or dad approves, no computer unless for work, and no TV. Get it? Got it? Good."

"Whatever. Can I go?"

"If you have nothing to say to me then yes, you may go." She said and I left. I was not about to give her the satisfaction of an apology. She didn't deserve it but maybe Ezra did. I felt the urge to talk to someone and I knew that Ezra would be there for me but I just wasn't sure if calling him was the best idea. If I called him things could never go back to a normal student-teacher relationship, but I wasn't even sure it could go back to that anyways. Maybe a simple text?

When I got back to my room I took out my phone and typed out a text to Ezra.

**I'm really sorry about the way I acted today. Thanks for being there for me. Can we talk? -Aria**

Before I hit send I hesitated. Should I send it? What if he wasn't willing to forgive me? What then? But I wanted to talk to him. Like he said, he was just concerned about me like any teacher. The difference was he actually cared. Before I could change my mind I hit send. Now all I could do was wait.

**Hey guys! I actually was ready to post this chapter on Saturday but I didn't have internet until right now so thanks for being patient. The next chapter should be up in the next couple of days. Keep reviewing and because no one told me weather or not they wanted A, I'm not going to include him/her unless someone tells me otherwise. So, if you have a preference, speak up! Reviews are greatly appreciated and criticism is too :) Thanks so much! **

**Lindsey**


	5. Chapter 5

-Chapter 5-

As I entered my apartment, 3B, I had so much running through my brain. I was hardly even able to concentrate in class today. As soon as I saw Aria, my brain went numb. I had always wondered what it would be like when she came back. What she would look like, what she would say, even what she would be wearing. Always I fantasized about seeing her again but never did I actually think that it would happen.

But it did. Out of nowhere, Aria was sitting in my classroom and by the look on her face, she was just as surprised as I was to see her. I wasn't prepared for her reaction though. I just couldn't gage it. She was all over the place. It didn't take me long to realize she was having withdrawals. But this wasn't Aria. Not the Aria I knew at least. I gave her a chance to tell me what happened. Multiple. Sure I was mad she left but I wasn't furious. I wanted to know what happened. Why she left, and where she went. As far as I was concerned, it wasn't because of me. According to her mother end everyone else close to her, it was because she wasn't doing well. She wasn't doing to well when I had to leave either. I helped her through it though; at least I thought I did. So when I heard she left because she was going through a tough time, I wasn't too surprised.

What I was surprised about though was that she hadn't found a way to say goodbye. If she had called or texted, I wouldn't have known but aria was smart enough to leave a note. But she didn't. But now I understood why she hadn't. I was the reason she had left. Whatever had happened in France was entirely my fault.

I wanted Aria to open up to me. I knew I could help her through some of this stuff she's going through but only if she tells me. I get where she's coming from not wanting to open up to me, but I wanted her to know I was there. If she ever needs me, I'm here for her. Always and forever. I made that promise before I left and had no intention of breaking it. So when Aria stood in front of me telling me nothing was wrong when clearly, something was very wrong, I did something I'll probably always beat myself up for doing. I forced her to stay. Now she was pissed at me and wasn't going to tell.

But her emotions were all over the place. You could see it on her face. First she was shocked, then happy, scared, angry, pissed, downright furious, sad, happy, and then fuming. I couldn't figure her out though, which was almost never the case. All class I watched her, she was completely lost. Out of it. Not there. Whatever you want to call it. Aria's little head was elsewhere. Probably trying to figure out exactly what I was: Where we were going to go from here.

But now she would probably never talk to me again. I forced her to stay. I used her outfit against her. Oh, that outfit she was wearing. It was… There was no words to describe that outfit and as an English teacher, that's saying a lot. But I hated it. I hated her outfit more than words can describe. More than... But my phone interrupted my thoughts as it beeped with a new text message. As I clicked open to an unfamiliar number, I began to read

**I'm really sorry about the way I acted today. Thanks for being there for me. Can we talk? –Aria**

So now she was ready to talk? Why the hell did she wait until after school? But I shouldn't be questioning this. She was apologizing and asking my help all in one. This was so unlike the stubborn Aria I knew.

**Sure. Would you like to come over? –Ezra**

Before I hit send though, I rethought my text. What should I sign it? Ezra was very informal but I wasn't about to sign it Mr. Fitz. I decided to settle on Ezra realizing that if she wasn't comfortable with my first name, she wouldn't have asked to talk.

Before I was able to rethink anything, she replied

**Can't… I'm grounded :/ -Aria**

Her mom must have been pissed when she saw her. But how was I supposed to respond to that? We couldn't meet somewhere and I didn't exactly want to do this on the phone.

**Anyway you can get out of the house? At all? If not we can do this over the phone or tomorrow after school? –Ezra**

I didn't want to wait. I wanted to comfort her. For her to feel safe with me. I wanted her back but Aria wouldn't budge. If she didn't want me then there was no way I was getting her back and that's why I needed to help her. To prove to her that I was right for her.

**I'll see what I can do. A little lie might do the trick. I'll keep you posted –Aria**

And now she was off lying to her parents. Wonderful.

* * *

><p>I was completely surprised by Ezra's reaction to my text. I never thought he would forgive me so easily. He was always so strong. But I had to stop thinking of him like that. From here on out he was my teacher and possibly my therapist. He was going to help me through this. I knew he could, I just wasn't positive he would. But now he will and I couldn't be happier. If only I could get out of this damn house.<p>

I trudged down the stairs and into the kitchen watching my mom cook dinner for a minute before she noticed I was even there.

"Yes?" She asked, obviously annoyed.

"You know how I told you Mr. Fitz wanted to help me with my college essays, well I decided to take him up on it but the only time he can do it is now. Can I go?" I saw my mom was contemplating it. How could she say no to something that would help me for college? I decided she needed a little reinforcing, "Do you want to see the email?"

Finally she looked me in the eyes, "No, that's ok. I believe you. Go ahead. But be home for dinner."

With that, I ran upstairs, grabbed my bag and texted Ezra.

**Well that wasn't hard. Heading over right now –Aria**

He better be ready for me because I was an emotional wreck and if he couldn't deal with me, I don't know who could. It's like they always say: If you can't handle me at my worst, you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best. The thing I didn't know was things were about to get a hell of a lot worse.

**Hey guys! You asked me to post sooner so vualah! Haha no, just be happy I had very little homework today. Who knew freshman year was so hard? Anyways... Thanks so much for the sweet reveiws guys, they make me SOOOOO happy that it's crazy! I'm loving you all right now! And to those of you who aren't reviewing... I'll send Jason to go stalk you, then Jackie to you're house and cuss you out :/ So review... It only takes a second but puts the biggest smile ever on my face... Thanks for reading, I hope you've enjoyed and... REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!**

**Thanks you, Lindsey**


	6. Chapter 6

-Chapter 6-

As I headed down the familiar road to Ezra's apartment, my head refused to stop spinning. I didn't know what to expect but all I knew was that I wanted to talk to someone. Over the course of the day, I realized that it was sick for me to not be able to go a few hours without wanting a hit. I didn't want to be this girl. Not anymore. But I couldn't go back now. I had gone too far and I knew it.

But was Ezra really the one I wanted to talk to about this? After all, he was the reason I became this sick. But I don't know who else I would feel this comfortable talking to. Ezra was just one of those guys who I couldn't help but spill all to.

As I pulled into his apartment complex, I began second-guessing my decision but it was too late. I parked my car and walked the three flights of stairs to his flat with doubt flushed all over my face.

I slowly brought my arm up to the door and hesitated before knocking. Why was I so insecure about this? With the help of a little drink, I would be so confident about going to Ezra's apartment, but the prospect of entering it again after that entire year scared me more than I can say.

Finally, I decided I needed to get it over with and brought my hand up once again to knock on his door. Before I could even think about running he opened the door and peered out.

"Aria, hi." He stuttered looking me over, "Come on in."

I did as I was told. This place had not changed one bit. There were still piles of books everywhere, papers flooding his desk, and the smell that had come to symbolize safety had not been replaced. As was always, Ezra's apartment represented a safe-haven for us where we didn't need to hide. A place where it could just be Aria and Ezra. At least it used to.

"Aria?" He asked bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry," I whispered, "It's just, this brings back so many memories." "Yeah," He sighed, "Do you want something to drink?"

"Yeah but I shouldn't," I laughed. Did I ever not want something to drink? But that's not what he was asking.

"Aria, why are you here?" He asked, cutting to the chase, "You said you wanted to talk and like I said, I'll always be here for you but you're making this tough for me."

"I'm making this tough on you? What exactly did I do to make this tough on you?" I didn't want to get mad at him but what was I supposed to say to that?

"You come here dressed as if you're going clubbing, then you almost asked for a-"

"If you think of me like that then why did you ask me here?" I questioned.

"Because Aria, I want to get you back." I looked at him in disbelief, "Wait, that came out completely wrong. I want to get you back to being you."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I screamed at him.

"Would you just sit the hell down and tell me what the goddamn happened?" I wasn't going to talk to someone who was screaming at me, so I turned to him and looked him straight in the eyes.

"No." I said and walked straight out of the apartment. I didn't want to go home but my mom would know if I had been anywhere else. How was I supposed to explain coming home so early anyways? As I sat in my car wracking my brains for something to do, I pulled out my phone and dialed Hannah's familiar number.

After two rings she picked up and I could hear Spencer and Emily laughing in the background.

"Hello?"

"Hey Hannah, it's Aria."

"Hey! What's up? Hold on one sec, let me put you on speaker phone. The other girls are here too."

"Aw, you guys are having a party without me? You know I like to party!" I mock pouted into the receiver. Evidently the girls didn't understand as none of them laughed.

"Aria. You were gone for a year. We've changed. You've changed a lot. You can't just expect to come home and for everything to be the exact same as before you left." Spencer said in all seriousness.

"I know guys, it's called a joke." After an awkward silence, I decided to continue, "I actually called for a reason though. I wanted to know what went down after I left. With A and everything. I didn't get a chance to ask you all earlier while everyone was crowding us at lunch."

"Well," began Emily who had stayed silent since I had been on the phone, "As soon as you were gone, so was A."

"Yeah, whatever happened to you? I'm guessing what you told everyone at lunch isn't entirely true," Hannah but in.

"Well, It is true that I was having a tough time but that wasn't the half of it. A started targeting me as soon as you all left." I sighed.

"Why didn't you say goodbye?" Hannah asked bluntly.

"I couldn't. It was all so sudden. And once I was gone, I was completely gone." I said though no one understood the double meaning in what I was saying but me.

"Um, Aria," Came Spencer's voice, "Do you want to come over so we can talk?"

I had to really think about this. If my mom found out, she would be even more furious and if Hannah's mom was home, my mom was sure to know.

"I can't," I said regretfully, "I'm grounded."

"You're grounded already? You just got home yesterday." Came Spencer's disappointed voice, "Seriously? What did you do?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Hey, can you put Aria on the phone please, I'm not sure who I'm talking to."

"Seriously Hannah?"

"Joking! It's just, you used to be so close with you're parents. What happened?"

"Would you just stop asking me that! Nothing happened!" I yelled into the receiver.

"Aria," Emily paused before continuing, "Hannah didn't mean that."

"I have to go." I told the trio before hanging up and driving back home. Well this was a fun day. Now my parents hate me, Ezra hates me, and my friends hate me. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

**Hi guys! I want to apologize for this taking so long to upload and even though I shouldn't use excuses, there was a major power outage where I live and I didn't have power for a day, so that slowed me down. I've also had major writers block and still do if you haven't noticed already by how horrible this chapter was :/ Anyways, thanks for all the amazing reviews and keep them coming. I appreciate each and every one of them and I wan't to thank all of you for reading!**

**Thanks a ton, Lindsey**

**(Ready, set, review!)**


	7. Chapter 7

-Chapter 7-

If I thought the day couldn't get any worse, I was completely wrong, and if I told you that my busy father whom I hadn't seen since that first night coming home from the airport was oblivious when I got home, that would be a lie. Well, I wish someone would have told me that before stepping foot in that hellhole I call home because let me tell you, I was not prepared one bit for the storm that was about to brew right in front of my eyes.

I quietly and quickly opened the front door trying my best not to make any noise as I didn't exactly want any attention on me. Before moving one bit, I could faintly hear voices conversing in the kitchen and I strained my ears trying to listen in.

"Wait, why is she grounded? And why is she out if she's grounded?" Sounded my father's confused voice.

"Byron," My mom paused, "I already told you. She was wearing the skimpiest dress I've ever seen, she lied to me, and there were some rumors… Well, never mind about that."

"And she's out because…?"

"Because Ezra's going to be helping her with her college essay." Since when did my mom call Mr. Fitz Ezra? As far as I knew, they were always on a last name basis. But then again, my mom was a teacher at the school now.

"And you believe her?" Did he sound angry?

"I have no reason not to trust her so yes, I do."

"Did you not just say she lied to you about the dress?" Yup, he was definitely angry.

"Well-"

"Ella, you're so naïve. You can't just assume things. Is she home yet? I'm going to have a nice long talk with her once she walks through that door." Crap. I hadn't moved from where I was standing in the doorway and I couldn't really camp out here all night. I guess there's no better time then the present right?

I walked into the kitchen with battered breath preparing myself for what was to come. Pretending as if I hadn't heard anything they said, I walked into the kitchen and looked back and fourth between my parents taking in their anger clad faces.

"Is dinner almost ready? I'm starved." Both my parents just stared at me without saying anything. "Ok, what's going on here?"

"I could ask you the same," Said my dad eyeing me up and down.

I turned to my mom deciding to talk to her and her only, "Well, the meeting with Mr. Fitz went well but I'm not entirely sure that I want to continue with it. I'm not sure if that's what I'm looking for right now so I'll have to wait and see." I looked between the two of them and realized they weren't going to talk, "Ok can one of you just tell me what's going on here?"

"Where were you just now?" Asked my dad.

"Mr. Fitz's apartment."

"And why not at school?"

"Dad, school closes at five. Its six thirty." I noticed the harsh mask my dad had on slowly softening as I was convincing him.

"Aria, what happened?" Oh my god! Would people just stop asking me that?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, playing it cool.

"Never mind. Just go upstairs, you're grounded remember? Dinner will be ready in half an hour." So my dad bought it. He actually bought it.

I left the kitchen in a haze. Had my dad really bought it? It wasn't unlike him to let something be for a bit to think about it and come back with a punishment. He was a professor after all. But I hadn't lied to him. Not one bit. Everything I said was true, just out of context.

But I had more pressing issues to deal with. Most obviously the fact that Ezra was my first period teacher so it wasn't like I could really escape him entirely. What was I supposed to do about him? Was he mad? Of course he was, but how mad? Was I mad? I don't know. Was I mad? I guess I was. I must have been. But, I jut wish there was someone I could talk to. Someone who really understood me, not some shrink. I was hoping Ezra could help me. But did I even give him a fair chance? I don't know what to think.

Next, my thoughts focused on my friends. Like they had said, we've all changed. How could I have been so naïve to believe that things could just go back to the way they were between us? I just wish everything were the way it was before I had left.

Deciding it was time to do homework, I looked in my agenda. First, English homework. Not wanting to do that assignment, I let my eyes drift to the other periods. Was Ezra really the only teacher to give homework on the first day of school? I guess there was no avoiding it if I didn't want to get yet another detention. _Write a paper on what you did this summer (address to Mr. Fitz)_ I had copied down. Well this will be fun. Everything I wasn't able to tell him today I was supposed to write in this letter? Yeah, that's not happening.

After an hour, a silent dinner with the family, and multiple revisions, I finally felt confident with what I had written. Before stuffing it in my binder, I read over it mindlessly one more time.

_Dear Mr. Fitz,_

_As you know, I spent my summer in France. It was supposed to be a getaway for me. I left because I was going through a tough time. Though I'd like to say it was entirely the fault of my boyfriend then, the reason I left hardly had anything to do with him. I want you to know that. While France was supposed to be good for me, it didn't exactly help me out. This summer was the worst I've ever had. I should have spent my time sight seeing and shopping but I didn't take that opportunity. If I could go back to the day I decided to leave, I would change everything about it. Every single thing. The fact is though that it happened and I can't erase it. Nor can I pretend that it never did happened. Unfortunately, my stupidity in France is not only hurting me but all the people around me but I can't do anything about it now. I've been so selfish. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could take this whole year back. No matter how bad I thought France was though, nothing can compare to how horrendous these last three days in Rosewood have been. In that short period of time, I have lost the trust of my family, messed up all of my friendships, and hurt the person most important to me. I wish there was someone I could talk to about what happened in France. Someone who fully understands me, but thanks to my idiocy, that person is thoroughly pissed at me. I wish things could just go back to the way they were before I left, but that's not going to happen. I guess this was sort of meant to be an apology. For everything. I know that I have let you down one time after another and you don't have to forgive me but I thought an apology was in order. I hope that in time, I can learn to stop hurting everyone and maybe, just maybe you can learn to forgive me. Thanks for giving me this opportunity to explain myself._

_-Aria Montgomery_

It was weird; I used to write to sort out my feelings. It would always help me. I never though about but going back to writing, I was really able to sort out my thoughts. My mom used to tell me writing was my gift. I realized if I ever couldn't figure something out, I could just write and it would make scene. I don't know why I didn't think about writing once I was in France. I guess it just seemed too nerdy. But now I feel like I can think straight for the first time since I've been back home. For the first time all year actually. It was a good feeling. It gave me a sliver of hope that things might actually start to get better around here.

**Guess who's backkk? Sorry it's been forever since I've updated. I've been kind of busy with school. I'll try to post this weekend but don't hold me to it because it's my brothers birthday and I have a swim meet... Anyways, I kind of like this chapter... I hope you do too. It was fun writing. La di da di dayy, I don't know what else to say. Oh yeah, REVIEW! Do it! You know you want to!**

**All my love, Lindsey**


	8. Chapter 8

-Chapter 8-

As I looked at the clock in awe, I couldn't grasp the fact that I had spent the entire first half of my free period doing absolutely nothing but thinking about Aria. She hadn't seemed mad per say when she walked into class this morning. More sad then anything. I didn't want to stare. I snuck a few glances at her trying to figure out what was going on in her little head. It wasn't like she shouldn't be mad at me, but this wasn't mad. No, she didn't seem mad. The class flew by in a blur. I lectured and when I couldn't lecture any longer, I set them loose on some work. I thought about asking Aria to stay behind after class. I wanted to apologize. I would have been mad had she not looked so sad. But I figured I should give her some time. She'd come around and talk to me. I was sure of it.

So sure that when I read her letter I wasn't surprised one bit. As soon as class was over, I pulled it out. It was written post our talk, clearly. I couldn't believe how sincere she was being. She had said that she'd lost the trust of the person most important to her. Was she trying to tell me I was still important to her? By the way she had been acting, it seemed like she would pick a slug over me. But now she was saying I was important. And she wanted me to forgive her. That wasn't like the stubborn Aria I knew.

But then again, this wasn't the Aria I knew. Not entirely. The more I looked though, I started noticing traces of her coming back that were definitely not there the yesterday. First there was the fact that she was being blunt. She was stating something she wanted in such a direct way without being uncouth. That was something I had admired her for. Something that made our relationship work.

She asked for my forgiveness but she didn't expect to get it. She knew me better than that, I forgave her fully. I wanted to let her know. Tell her I was here for her, forever and always. But I didn't want to do this on the phone. I had to find a way to talk to her. To get her alone.

The task proved quite easy as she entered my classroom directly after school. I was assigned detention and surely no one was assigned a detention for the second day of school so I was expecting to have some time to just sit and grade some papers. What I wasn't prepared for was Aria to walk in with a detention slip.

"Aria," I croaked as soon as she walked in. She looked at me with her sad eyes, clearly trying to decipher if I had read her letter or not.

"I'm here for detention," She whispered slowly.

"I read your letter," Her eyes grew wide and she nodded at me, mentioning for me to continue, "Thank you."

She put her bag down by the seat closest to my desk and sat down in it, "I just wanted you to know…" She let the sentence die. I nodded knowingly.

"Look, if you want to talk, just know I'm here for you. As a teacher," I quickly added. She looked from the door back to me, "I don't think anyone else is coming. Not many people get detentions the second day of school."

She laughed a genuine laugh. I hadn't heard her laugh in a year and it was suck a beautiful sound that it put a smile on my face.

"Well, my mom, you know." It was obvious her mom had gotten her point across as she was wearing black skinny jeans and a white lacy top with a black jacket. Nothing revealing or slutty at all.

"Yeah." I said content. We were having a conversation. A friendly conversation at that. "So, is everything alright?"

"Well besides the fact that I ate lunch alone, I'm grounded, and no one wants anything to do with me, then yeah, I'm perfect." I was glad the conversation was going the way I wanted.

"That's not entirely true."

"Well thank you." She said looking into my eyes. "Can we do this somewhere else?"

"Do you want to come over? Your mom thinks you're here so that shouldn't be a problem." I rambled.

"I'd love to." And with that, we both got our cars and drove over to the familiar apartment complex.

At first I was shocked by how quickly Ezra came around. He even invited me over again. It wasn't unlike him but I just didn't quite expect it. Ezra was too good of a person. Before I even got the chance to figure out how I was going to tell him about the past year, I had arrived. He was waiting at the main door for me. Such a gentleman.

"You ready?" He asked as I met him at the door.

"Lead the way."

We walked up the three flights of stairs in a comfortable silence and finally arrived at the infamous flat 3B.

He let us in and looked at me, "Do you want anything?" He asked politely as I nodded my head no. All right, this was it. Take two.

He walked to the couch and I followed, sitting down across from him of the futon, not wanting to get too close.

"So," He began, "How was France?" He asked fare well knowing the answer.

"Hell." I stated, "The family I stayed with was just clueless but the girl Janette and I became quick friends. That was probably my worst mistake. All I wanted though was to forget Rosewood and my only way to get over it was too," She paused and looked down, "To do what Janette was doing. Her and her friends, they, they weren't good kids. But I kind of, became friends with them anyways. I drowned myself in alcohol trying to get over all that Rosewood shit and then it got worse. I didn't even know who I was anymore when I started with the drugs." I could feel his gaze on me and I finally looked.

When he saw the tears in my eyes, he, without saying anything, patted the seat next to him and I willingly fell into him embrace. I took in his smell as he wrapped his arms around my fragile frame. I let my head fall into his chest and he soothingly rubbed my back as I let the tears envelope me.

It wasn't a romantic gesture, more of a friendly one. Certainly not how a teacher should be comforting his student but we had never just been a teacher and student.

After what felt like forever, I looked up at him. "I just don't know what to do."

"Aria," He began, "You are an amazing person and you have been through so much. You can make it through this. I know you can."

"Thank you Ezra. For everything," I said still leaning on him.

"Of course," he mumbled. Suddenly I remembered how selfish I was being.

"How was your year? You haven't told me anything."

He laughed a little and when I pulled back to look at him, he looked me directly in the eye, "Time's up."

"What?" I asked completely confused.

"Detentions over and I don't want to get you in any more trouble then I've already gotten you into."

"You're not the reason I'm grounded. I did that to myself." I tried convincing him.

"I'm pretty sure I had a big impact on you're parents decision."

"Nope. This one's entirely my fault." I laughed.

Ezra made me feel so safe and secure. There weren't many people I would have been able to tell my story to and not judge me. For a moment I almost forgot that Ezra and I weren't together anymore.

"I don't want to go home," I whined.

He looked at me and laughed. "Well, you're welcome back here whenever you just need to talk. That welcome mat is talking to you."

"Thank you so much. I really needed it." I said sincerely.

"It was a good way to spend detention."

"That's for sure." I laughed.

He laughed too and when I reached for the door he stopped me, "Aria, before you go home, you might want to go to the bathroom. I don't want it to be too obvious that you weren't exactly in detention."

At first I was confused but once I thought about it, I probably looked like a mess. I had been crying after all. Laughing I made my way to his bathroom and used water to clean up as much of the makeup streaming down my face as I could. Once I looked presentable, I exited the bathroom and walked back over to the door.

"Thanks again Ezra."

"Always," He smiled and opened his arms for a hug. I willingly fell into his open embrace and we stayed there for a little longer than needed. Finally we pulled apart and I left the room, smiling back at Ezra before closing the door. As I made my way to the car, I couldn't help but feel more like myself then I had since before I left.

**Well, there you have it, she finally told him! Yayy! If you want them to get back together then you have to review and tell me. If I get 10 reveiws by the next chapter, they might just share a kiss... But if I don't get enough reviews then they are going to fight... Maybe. Dun dun dun! Haha, just review! Thanks for reading!**

**Lindsey**


	9. Chapter 9

-Chapter 9-

Finally I felt like I was getting somewhere with Aria. She had finally opened up to me. Finally she had come clean about what had happened in France. Finally I understood why she was so broken. And that is most definitely what she was: Broken.

What could I do about it though? I knew she was going to be able to work through the drug and alcohol stuff on her own. It must not have been that bad if she was able to give it up since she's been home and it's obvious she had. I was not worried she couldn't work through that because I know how strong she is.

I was worried about everything else. How she was going to get into a good college when she had barely passed every class last year. How she was going to fix her friendships when it was evident they were mad at her. How she was going to regain the trust of her parents. How she was going to carry on in life the way she wanted it to be; The way it could have been.

Somehow though, considering I was the only one who had let her back in, I felt like it was my duty to help her out. To get her through this tough time. It was my job as her teacher, but also as a friend to be there for her. I needed to help her because I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't.

I just wasn't sure how I could help her with anything she needed my help for. I couldn't help her with her parents, her friends, nothing.

The only thing I knew I had the capability of was comforting her. I wanted Aria back and I knew that if I got her back in my arms, she would start to feel like life was beginning to go back to normal. Not just because of me, but also because she would feel more settled. If she needed someone to talk to, I'm here. If she needed a hug, I'm here. If she needed some reassurance, I'm here. If she needed her life back, I really don't know how to help her.

As soon as the lunch bell rang and all the student exited the class, I pulled out a stack of essays that needed to be graded and my sack lunch. Only five minutes into lunch, after I had graded only two essays, in walks Aria with her backpack hanging limply from one shoulder.

"Hey," she said cheerfully after putting her bag down on a desk near mine.

"Hey," I repeated standing up and wrapping her in a quick friendly hug, "What's up?"

"Lots of things," She sighed.

"You want to talk?" I asked, leading her to two desks and we sat facing each other.

"No, I mean it's nothing really. Just, the girls don't really want anything to do with me right now."

"And why's that?"

"Well, long story short, I was kind of talking to someone we don't talk to." She confessed turning red. Obviously there was more to the story. She was probably flirting with him, or worse, hooking up with him. I had heard the rumors going around school: Aria Montgomery, the new slut who flirted with every guy at the school. What a wonderful reputation she had earned herself in such a short amount of time.

Instead of being mad at her, I played it cool, "I'm sorry. I'm guessing you'd prefer not to have to see them right now?"

"You've guessed right."

I wasn't exactly sure what to say to that so I just gave her a sad smile.

"So," She broke the silence, "I want to hear about your year."

"Right, well there wasn't much that happened. I probably spent the first three months in some sort of frenzy. After that, not much happened. I stayed here, worked, and wrote in my free time. I read a lot. Honestly, the entire year was a whole bunch of nothing."

"Oh, I'm sorry," She slowly mumbled.

"Don't be," I smiled at her and we spent the rest of lunch chatting about anything and everything. It was so nice to just be able to talk to her. I wanted to move our relationship forward but I didn't want to scare her off. That or rush her into anything she wasn't ready for.

* * *

><p>"Well the bell's going to ring in a few minutes and I have to go get ready for class," I said to him, sad to have to leave.<p>

"Yeah, you should probably get going," He agreed, "But, do you want to come over for dinner tonight? You don't have to but I just thought, you know."

I laughed at his babbling, "Of course I would. I'll have to figure it out with my mom, but for now lets say it's a yes. I'll text you if something changes."

With that, we said our goodbyes and I left to get my stuff for the rest of the dreaded school day.

After school I was greeted by an empty house, but it wasn't long before my mom was home questioning me about my day.

"Look, I'd love to sit here and discuss with you why you didn't see me at lunch in the cafeteria but I have homework to attend to," I responded to her rant.

"And I would like to know where you were at lunch so we are going to be sitting here all night until you spill."

"Mom, there's nothing to spill. I was going over essay themes for college with Mr. Fitz all lunch. That's all there is to it."

"Are you telling me the truth?" She asked.

"Yes. I am. If you don't believe me, go and ask him yourself."

"So, have you two set up a schedule?" She asked, giving in to my act.

"No, but he wants to work with me some more tonight. Is it alright if I go over there around seven?"

"To his apartment?" She questioned.

"Yes."

"If it was any other teacher I would say no, but I know and trust him, so yes. But don't be back past nine."

"Alright mom," I said before texting Ezra to tell him I'd be there around seven.

* * *

><p>So Aria would be here again tonight. Just me and Aria one more time. I was determined to get her back. After grading the last of the papers, I cleaned up my apartment and changed quickly before hearing a knock at the door. I let aria in and brought her to the coffee table that held the food I had made for us.<p>

"You cooked this?" Was one the first things she asked.

"Yeah, I guess that's something else I did over the past year. Learned to cook." She laughed quietly at my joke and we both began to eat our food in a comfortable silence.

"So how was the rest of your day?" I finally asked.

"Alright, what about yours?"

"Not as good as seeing you." I smiled, attempting to get her to realize where I wanted to go with this dinner. When she didn't reply I decided to ask something a little safer, "So, what are you going to do about your friends? I mean, do you want to…" I let the sentence die, not fully knowing how to ask what I wanted to.

"I don't know," She replied, "It's just so hard. I want my old life back but I don't know how to get it."

"How about you start with me," I whispered and leaned into her beautiful face. I put one hand behind her head and one around her waist. She willingly leaned into me and gently touched her lips to mine. Quickly she put her arms around my neck and played with the little hairs there while my tongue begged for entrance to her mouth.

After a few quick seconds, she pushed me away. I pulled back and looked into her eyes for an answer. There was fear embedded in her pupils; I was scaring her off.

"I'm sorry, I can't do this," She stuttered before getting up, gathering her things, and leaving my apartment.

What had I done wrong? Was I taking this too fast? Maybe she just wasn't ready for this. But she was ready after knowing me for a total of ten minutes. She's been through so much; I'm an idiot for trying that on her. How could I have been so stupid? All I knew right then was that I had just completely screwed up what Aria and I had. For good.

**Hey guys, I'm so so sorry about how long it took to get this up. I have been crazy busy lately and I just had no time. Anyways, now that I got that out there, I wanted to thank everyone so much, the reviews were so nice! If you want things to go well between them, keep reviewing! It makes me so happy. On another note, I'm thinking about starting a blog. Not quite sure yet, but if you have any suggestions (names, topics, really anything- I'm clueless), feel free to PM me or review. **

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to REVIEW!**

**-Lindsey**


	10. Chapter 10

-Chapter 10-

After sitting in my cozy car for slightly over five minutes, I had controlled myself enough to enter my house without my parents gaining suspicion. I slowly stepped out of my car, opened the front door, and walked past the kitchen where my mom was cooking up to my bedroom. I shut my door a little too loud and laid down on my bed staring at the ceiling.

Ezra had kissed me; He wanted me back. It wasn't exactly surprising but he was to good for me. I couldn't ask him to sacrifice everything he had for me: The whiny little high school student. And that's exactly why I had left. It hadn't mattered that I had enjoyed the kiss. It hadn't mattered that I sincerely wanted to kiss him all night. It hadn't even mattered that all I wanted to do right now was be with him. I couldn't do that to him. I don't deserve him.

A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.

"Come in," I weakly said while my mom complied.

"You're home early. Did everything go alright?"

"Yeah, I was just a bit sidetracked." I answered truthfully.

I sat up and pulled my knees up to my chest while my mom took a seat next to me on the bed.

"Hun," She started, "A lot has happened so quickly. You just came home and I know this is really tough, and maybe we're being too strict by grounding you. I mean, you've been having such a tough time and we should have seen it-"

"Mom," I cut her off, "I deserve to be grounded, and I'm sure I deserve everything that's happening right now. But, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Well, there's this guy and, we sort of had a thing before I left. Well, he's probably the best boyfriend in the world. I mean like, everything you could think of. He's been trying to help me, kind of, get through some of the stuff I'm dealing with right now, which is so sweet. But, he wants to get back together but," I knew I had to choose my words carefully, "There are so many things I would be taking from him and I just can't do that no matter how badly I want to. He's to good of a guy."

"You're asking me about boys?" She laughed.

I laughed a bit too, "I guess so."

"Listen," She said, "He seems like a great guy and if he does sincerely want to get back together with you then I'm sure he's thought through the consequences. All I want is for you to be happy and if he's going to make you happy then I think you should go for it. Any guy would be lucky to have you as their girlfriend. And besides, it would be nice for you to have someone to lean on when you're friends aren't there for you."

"I know mom, you don't have to sell me on him. I'm sold, it's just, he's too good for me. I'm going to weigh him down."

"You never know until you try, Aria. I think you're being to hard on yourself."

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome. Can I just ask one thing of you? That if you two get back together, that you'll bring him here to meet us?"

"Sure." I whispered, full well knowing that that would never happen no matter how badly I wanted it to.

I told my mom goodnight and went to bed early.

The next morning I woke up early so I would have time to talk to Ezra before school. I didn't know if I'd be able to get out of the house again tonight so before school was the next best thing. After exiting my car, I entered the almost empty building and walked straight towards Ezra's door.

He was grading some paper while I walked in. He looked up and sighed.

"Hi," I started "I'm so sorry, I was-"

"Why are you sorry? That was so impulsive and, and-"

"Ezra stop," He had stood up by his desk and I began walking towards him. "I can't tell you how happy I was last night. I don't want you to be sorry. That wasn't a mistake. But pushing you away was. I thought that I was doing the right thing for you. That you were too good for me and that I was holding you back. And I still think that this-"

But his lips cut me off. He put one hand on my neck and pulled me into him. The second our lips touched, I knew it was going to be ok. He removed his hand from my neck and placed both his arms around my waist pulling me as close to him as possible. I quickly reciprocated by placing my arms around his neck as the kiss grew more heated. This time I didn't stop him when his tongue began to slip its way into my mouth. I willingly allowed him in as I wrapped my arms around his neck even tighter relishing having him in my arms. It was the best feeling in the world and I never wanted to let it go.

As soon as the kiss ended, he looked me in the eyes, "Aria Montgomery, You never hold me back and let me tell you something. Every single day I think about how you are way to good for me. You may be going through a tough time but I don't care. You have the purest soul of anyone I have ever met. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. Inside and out."

Without moving my hands from his neck, I pulled his head down so his lips could meet mine. It wasn't a passionate kiss like the first, but more of a soft, gentle kiss. I pulled back and whispered to him, "Don't you ever leave me again."

He smiled his boyish smile and said in the sexiest voice I had ever heard, "I wouldn't dream of it."

**Hey guys! I'm back! Sorry for the super long wait! This chapter is dedicated to PrettyLittleSwifty13. I've been slammed with so much stuff lately and I almost abandoned BMR but she PMed me and told me to update. Anyways, if you want to hear my whole sob story of why it's been so long since I've updated this story, she knows it all (haha sorry). Anyways, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I hope you all liked it and are happy with where I'm taking this. Please please please review! Maybe it will even get me to update faster! I promise, it wont take this long again. That was inexcusable! Anyways, thanks a lot for reading and don't forget to REVIEW!**

**Love you all (except those of you who don't review), Lindsey  
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	11. Chapter 11

-Chapter 11-

Being with Ezra wasn't something I ever thought would happen again. It's always a strange thing when something happens in your life that you have control over yet you didn't think it was going to happen. I wasn't sure what to think of it either. Part of me felt like I was being selfish, but most of me was just pure happy.

For once I felt like I was getting back to somewhere I used to be. I was sitting in first period English, knowing I could talk to Ezra after class, knowing my parents weren't mad at me at home, and knowing that with determination, I would get my friends back no matter what it took.

"That's it, you can start tonight's reading if you'd like," Ezra concluded. He was visibly happier and everyone noticed it. His lecture was slightly more full of life than normal, and he walked with a small bounce in his step. I dug into my backpack and grabbed the book we had just begun reading. As I did so, I looked over to Ezra and I could detect a slight smile on his face. It was nice knowing that not only was I happy now, but he was too.

Before I know it, the bell had rung and I started gathering my things slowly, lingering behind, hoping to get a moment alone with Ezra. Unfortunately, there were two students lingering as well asking him questions and I knew I had to go.

"Thanks Mr. Fitz, see you tomorrow," I murmured before exiting his classroom, making my way to my mom's class. I completely dazed off during her class. How was I supposed to focus on world history when I got to think about all the history Ezra and I had, all the good memories, and all the memorable kisses; like the one today.

"What's got you so happy?" My mom asked as soon as the bell had rung.

"I don't know, just feeling a bit better today," I told her with a smile on my face.

"You expect me to believe this has nothing to do with the boy you were asking me about last night?"

"Yeah, I do," I laughed, "I've got to get going, but I'll see you at home."

"Alright, bye sweetie."

By the time lunch came around, I was torn. On one hand, I felt I needed to talk to Ezra, but on the other hand, I really needed to make things right with my friends. Because I was already on fire today, I decided to try my luck with my friends.

I entered the cafeteria as confident as I possibly could, and walked to the girl's table. Hannah looked up at me and soon after, Spence and Em did too- their faces expressionless.

"Hey," I said as I walked up to them. When no one said anything, I continued, "Guy's, I'm so sorry. I know it will take time for you to forgive me, but I hope that you at least try to."

Spencer was the first to reply, "Yeah, you wanna sit?"

I smiled, nodded, and sat down, "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how sorry I am. I went through a lot and I just… well, there's no excuse really, but thanks."

Lunch was extremely awkward, but I felt like at least we were moving in the right direction. I couldn't ask for more than they gave me and I'm just glad that they allowed me another chance. I knew it would take a while to get back to anything normal, but I also knew that in time, it could be accomplished.

The rest of the day passed fairly normally. A lab in science, a lecture in government, and more looks from students, but I tried my best to ignore them. I didn't want to let anything stop me from enjoying my day.

As soon as the final bell rang, I dashed out of the bland classroom and started making my way over to Ezra's classroom. To my dismay, my mom was walking towards me too.

"Hey, where are you going?" My mom asked me, stopping me from getting to my destination.

"I, uhm… I was trying to find Hannah, but I guess she must have left already." I covered, the best I could

"I see, come walk with me," She started walking in the other direction and I turned and followed, "So, are things any better with them?"

"I guess, maybe a little. Friendships don't happen over night, I'm working on it," I said, smiling.

"Glad to hear it."

* * *

><p><strong>Hey, I was going to swing by after school, but got held up by my mom. Sorry –Aria<strong>

I sent the text, feeling like the entire year before had never even happened. I was on cloud nine. I couldn't even get the damn smile off of my face, and my mom sure knew something was up. I felt so bad that I couldn't tell her. I didn't want to have any more secrets. It was tearing me up inside that I couldn't even tell my mom about something that made me so happy. I felt like something this exciting, should be a crime to have to keep to yourself. It's harder to hide something you're happy about than something you're sad about.

**It's alright. We should chat though… Dinner. My place. Tomorrow night. What do you say? -Ezra**

Was he asking me on a date? I knew we needed to chat, but the way he said that scared me a bit. I don't know why, and I know it shouldn't, but it just did. I knew there were many things we had to figure out, like how we were going to see each other, and when. We had made it work the year before, but at this point, we had both changed, the times had changed, and it wasn't something we could continue the same way we had, without talking it through.

If one week of no texting was all it took to turn both our lives inside out, then that was proof enough that we needed some help. We weren't the most conventional couple, we weren't the smartest, or most sneaky couple, but we loved each other, and I knew we could make it work, so we did, and I was determined to get to that point again this year.

**Sounds perfect, I'll be there. -Aria**

**Look who's back! Haha, I wasn't going to upload this for a couple reasons but I got the motivation I needed so I decided to put it up. So, I apologize that it's short and nothing really happens. And I will try my best, but if I can't update soon, sorry about that too. Anyways, I hope you liked this and please review if you did :)  
><strong>

**-Lindsey  
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